Mining equipment of the planer type having a pivotally mounted planing head



June 11, ,1957 H. BOBERSEN 2,795,407

MINING EQUIPMENT OF THE PLANER TYPE: HAVING A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED PLANING HEAD Filed March 17, 1953 NOR/ 7 United States Patent MINING EQUIPMENT OF THE PLANER TYPE HAVING A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED PLANING HEAD Harri Btibersen, Luenen, Westphalia, Germany Application March 17, 1953, Serial No. 342,937 7 Claims. (Cl. 262-8) This invention relates to improvements in mining equipment.

In United States patent application Serial No. 361,753 filed as a continuation-in-part to application Serial No. 29,432 (now abandoned), filed May 27, 1948 and which issued to patent on May 15, 1956 as Patent No. 2,745,651, mining equipment of the planer type is described. This mining planer consists of a planer head which is movable in either direction alongside a longitudinally extending conveyor. The planer head is provided with cutters tor cutting in each direction of movement, and is drawn back and forth along the leading portion of the longitudinally extending conveyor.

In operation the conveyor is positioned along a mine face, so that the planer will move back and forth in contact with the face. As the planer is drawn back and forth along the conveyor, it cuts material from the mine face, such as coal in the case of coal mining, and automatically deposits the same into the conveyor, which, in turn, continuously transports the material for removal. The planer head is drawn back and forth along the conveyor by means of a flexible traction element such as a chain or cable which, in turn, is actuated by any drive means.

The mining planing machine is exceptionally well adapted for long-wall mining, such as long-wall coal mining, and may be used for very efliciently removing coal by the long-wall method from narrow seams.

In accordance with the said application, the mining planer is provided with a planing head provided with two planing cutting edges arranged to cut in substantially opposite directions. A base member is provided to be pulled back and forth along the longitudinally extending conveyor in either direction, and is preferably guided along the forward portion of the conveyor. The planer head with its two planing cutting edges is pivotally mounted on the base member for pivoting within a limited arc of pivot, so that one of the cutting edges is tilted into a noncutting position and the other into cutting position when a planing head is moved in coal-cutting contact and in the cutting direction for the last-mentioned edge. Thus, in one direction of travel of the planer head, one of the cutting edges will be pivoted into the optimum cutting position, and the other cutting edge will be tilted out of the way, so that it will not drag along the mine face and impede the operation. When the direction of travel of the planing head is reversed, the planing head will pivot on the base member, so that the situation is exactly reversed.

The planing head may be pivotally mounted on the base member by providing the same with a pivot aperture and having a pivot post positioned on the base member extending into this aperture. The pivotal mounting may, of course, be effected in any other conventional manner. It is preferable that the pivotal mounting be so positioned that the planing head will have a limited arc of pivot and one of the cutting edges will be tilted upward into a non-cutting position and the other downwardly into cutting position when moving the coal planing head in coal-cutting contact and in cutting direction for the lastmentioned edge. Thus, for example, if the pivot joint consists of a pivot post and an aperture, the post may be inclined toward the planing head to permit downward self-adjustment of the edge which is in cutting position.

The embodiment as described in which the planing head is pivotally mounted on the base member is a marked improvement over the prior known mining planing equipment in which the planer head was rigidly mounted. In the conventional planers having cutting edges arranged to cut in substantially opposite directions, the optimum cutting angle could not be maintained on both cutting edges, and the non-cutting edge in any particular direction of travel would dnag along the mine face and interfere in the operation.

In accordance with the embodiment of the planing equipment in accordance with the said application, in which the axis of the pivot joint is tilted toward the planer head, i. e., obliquely positioned as, for example, the pivot post inclined toward the planing head, the tilting of the planing head will be so efiected that the edge in noncutting position is tilted back away from the mine face and upwardly and the cutting edge in cutting position is tilted toward the mine face and downward toward the mine flow. As the planer head is drawn in the direction of the cutting edge in cutting position, this edge will be forced downward so that a more or less strong scratching of the mine floor will be effected.

Practical tests have shown that in order to obtain stripping of the coal from the mine floor, and in order to avoid an unnecessarily high consumption of power, it is of great importance how strongly the floor is scratched by the planing cutter, i. e., how strongly the planer will be tilted and pressed downward into the floor. The most favorable values for all practical purposes can only be ascertained empirically for each operating position.

One object of this invention is a mining planer having a planer head with two planer cutting edges arranged to cut in substantially opposite directions, which is pivotally mounted on a base member on pivot means which allow the adjustment of the pivot point so that the force and depth with which the material is stripped from the miner floor may be controlled. This, and still further objects will become apparent from the following description, read in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a top elevation of a planer head and base member in accordance with the invention with the noncutting edge pivoted away from the face;

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the plane: head and base member shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a vertical section of an embodiment of a planer head and base member in accordance with the invention;

Figs. 4 and 5 show perspective views of the liner of the aperture of the planer head in the direction of the pivot post, and

Fig. 6 is a partial section through the line 66 i n the embodiment of Fig. 3.

In accordance with the invention, in order to control and change the downward pressure and depth of cut of the operating cutting blade on the mine floor, the pivot point around which the planer head tilts with respect to the base member or guide beam is made adjustable. This adjustment is preferably an adjustment in thepositioning of the axis or pivot with respect to the base member or guide means without a change in the angle of inclination thereof. Thus, the axis of pivot in accordance with the invention may be at the same angle positioned at various heights along the base member or guide means beam.

The pivot joint between the planer head and the base member may be in the form of a pin or pivot post attached to the base member, it in aperture in the planer head into which this post extends. Conversely, a pin may be provided on the planer head extending into an aperture onthe basemember, or any otherv known. or. conventional.

pivot joint may be.used.

Whenapin in apertureis used as'the pivot joint, itis:

attached to the. base. member, the planer head. may be.

provided witha. discor. similar. member having anteccens trically. positioned pivot opening orxaperture, into which the pivot post or pin extends. Bygthe turning ofthis disc,

the. desired displacement of. the: axis of. pivotwill be directly obtained. v

Instead of such a disc with an. eccentric.opening alinermay beprovided in a recessintheplaner head- This liner should be secured against turning, as,.for. example, by being of a non-circularshape. A plurality of-such-liners may be provided having the pivot postaperture at different placesin theseliners *andthey-may be interchanged and substituted at will depending upon theoperating conditions. Substitution of one. liner. for the other will, of course, change thepositioning of. theaxis of' pivot, since the positioning of the pivot. aperture varies with the different liners.

The same meansrnay, of course, beused for'varying and adjusting the positionof the pivot post or pin with respect to the base member.

As has. been. mentioned, it isimmaterialwhether the pivot post is attached to. the planer head and fits inan aperture in the base member, or Whether the pivot post is attached to the base member and fits inan aperture in the planer head. In accordance with the invention, it is possible to position the pivotpin somewhat like an ordinary hinge pin loosely incorrespondingapertures of the base member and/ or theplanerhead.

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawing. The base member is in the form of a guide beam 10. This guide beam is provided with alongitudinally extending guide channel 11. The guide channel 11 is open at itsrear endand cooperates with a guide rail to maintain theguide beam inposition as it travels back and forthalongthe conveyance. The guide rail, for example, is.positioned on the side of-the conveyor in front of the mineface. Theguide rail will extend through the guide channel. The guide beam is further provided with. a. cutter-shaped rearwardly directed extension 12 which extends below theconveyor, so that the planer is continuously pressed. against the mine floor by the weight of the conveyor and the material contained therein. The planer head 14is pivotally mounted on the guide beam and has the cutters 13a and 13b which confine the cutting edges. The cutters 13a and 13b face in opposite directions and operate alternately, depending upon the direction of planer travel.

The planer head 14 is pivotally mounted on the guide beam 10 bymeans of the pivot post 15, as'for example, is shown in Fig. 3, which is rigidly attached to the guide beam 10. The pivot post 15 extends within a ring 16 which. is positioned in turn in a recess 17 inthe planer head 14. The ring.16 has aneccentric opening into which the post 15 extends. A displacement of the axis of pivot of the planer headwith respect to the guide beam may be efiected by merely turning the ring 16. The ring 16 4 i is locked and maintained fast in the desired operating position by any suitable means such as the set screw 26. The pin 18, which is also rigidly positioned in the guide beam 10, engages into a longitudinal aperture 19 in the planer head 14 and merely serves to limit the arc of tilt or swing ofthe head 14.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5; the desired displacement of the axis of pivot of the head with respect to the guide beam. may be obtained. by means of a liner 20 or 200, respectively. This liner is locked against turning in the recess 21 of the guidebeam 10 or planer head 14 by means of its non-circular shape. The liners 20 and 20a have openings .22, in.which the pivot post 15 will extend and which, in cooperation with this pivot post, will constitute the pivot joint. The liners 20'and 20a may be interchanged at any time and thus the desired displacement of the pivot point between parts 10 and 14 may be obtained.

I claim:

1. In a mining planer having a base member movable back. and forth alongga. longitudinally extending conveyor, a miningplaninghead'with two planing cutting.

edges, thereon arranged to cut in substantially opposite directions pivotally mounted on said base member by means of a pivot post attached to one of said planing head and base members inclined from the vertical toward the planing head and extending into a pivot aperture defined by the other of said planing head and base member, the improvementwhich comprises means for adjusting the axis of pivot of the planing head with respect to the base member in a direction substantially normal to the direction of movement of the planer head without a change in the angle of inclination thereof.

2. Improvement according to claim 1, in which said means are means for adjusting the position of the pivot post.

3. Improvementaccording to claim l, in which said means aremeans for adjusting the position of said pivot aperture.

4. Improvement according to claim 3, in which said pivot aperture is defined in an adjustable liner.

5. Improvement according to claim 4, in which said liner is a disc having said pivot aperture cccentrically defined therein and including means for rotating said disc and means for securing said disc.

6. Improvement according to claim 3, in which said pivot aperture. is defined by a removable liner, and including at least. one. additional liner having said pivot aperture defined ata difierent place and interchangeable with i said first-mentioned liner.

7. In a mining planer having a planer head with two cutting edges thereon arranged to cut in substantially opposite directions, means pivotally mounting said planer head on a base member for pivoting about an axis in iclined from the vertical toward the planer head, said base member being movable back and forth along a longitudinally extending conveyor, the improvement which comprises-means for adjusting the axis of pivot of the planer head with respect to the base member in a direction substantially normal to the direction of movements of the planer head without a change in. the angle of inclination thereof.

References Cited'in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 

